Memories Stored at the Back of the Mind
by ElJunLy
Summary: Where it all starts from a new route. Latest: Of Cranes and Wishes, when they first met.


Hello, everyone~

And so I finally got together what I thought up some time ago.

_**DISCLAIMER: **_I do not own KagePro.

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Of Cranes and Wishes

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"Aanndd! We're off!"

Ayano announced as she ran out the door to join her siblings already impatiently waiting for her outside.

"Nee-chan! When are we going?"

"I wanna see Momo."

"The flowers will wilt…"

"Mm…"

At this, Ayano glanced at the boy's hands to see fistfuls of flowers which they must have picked from their garden. Although she knew they did not ask permission to pick them, she decided to let it slip as they were for someone else and not an act of mischief.

"Sorry, sorry," she quickly apologized, offering a nervous laugh to the three who looked at her with impatience and worry.

"Then, let's go! Mekakushi Dan, mission start!"

She announced the signal and the members present cheered with their leader, following her towards their "mission".

-0-

They knocked on the door of their destination and waited. Kido, Seto, and Kano had a somewhatexcited air. It was their first time to go to Momo's house, after all. It was also the first time for Ayano though her excitement is overpowered by thoughts for the girl they were visiting.

When Momo's mother answered, Ayano had only opened her mouth when the three, who were standing in front of her, recited their purpose in perfect sync to the woman as if they practiced hard for it. She stared at them, surprised at their small outburst before turning to Ayano, who smiled politely and was about to properly explain the situation.

She didn't get to explain, however, because the woman ushered them inside and told them where Momo is. The trio immediately rushed to the place, leaving Ayano and the woman in the living room.

"Sorry about them, Mrs. Kisaragi."

"Oh, it's alright, dear. I get whythey were such in a hurry."

Ayano dipped her head in thanks.

"I just-"

The woman was about to continue when a boy interrupted her. He appeared on top of the stairs as he spoke.

"Mom, there are kids-" he started, before he was cut off by a shrill quartet of voices.

"WE ARE NOT KIDS!"

He rolled his eyes at them, which of course went unnoticed by those who just yelled at him.

"Well?" he continued to his mother shortly, knowing she understood what he meant and eyeing Ayano who is still standing near his mother.

"Your sister's friends," she assured him as she fondly ruffled her son's hair.

"And their older sister," she added when she saw his gaze. "Why don't you keep her company? Your sister's doing well with hers."

He nodded slightly before turning and climbing up the stairs once more. Ayano stood there, still as still as a statue under his solid stare which was already gone moments ago. She felt a small push from the woman, getting her out of it.

"Go on. He's just shy," she assured the girl.

Ayano smiled graciously at her once again and followed him. She passed by an open door where the younger members of the gang were gathered. She briefly saw them trying to put the flowers in the grass of drinking water that was offered in a panick by the sick member they were visiting: the young Kisaragi Momo.

She laughed lightly and continued on her way to knock on the door at the farthest end of the hall.

After waiting for a while without receiving any reply, she opened the door and peeked inside. She could briefly hear the soft snip of scissors before she saw the boy turn his head at her direction. He stared at her again until he nodded and turned back to what he was doing. Ayano smiled and entered.

She slightly stepped beside him and watched him with his work.

He skillfully folded the square piece of paper he just cut in sure folds, making it smaller and smaller in Ayano's eyes until he made another fold which made it seem to magically get larger.

In a few seconds, she is staring at a white crane with a perfect score marked in red on a wing. He did not marvel at it as Ayano did and wasted no time in throwing it into a pile beside him. they were cranes.

"Why are you making so many?" Ayano asked, speaking to him for the first time.

He seemed to jump at the sudden question. Or maybe it was because of the new sound in his silent environment.

"A wish…"

"A wish?"

"Do you know about the legend of a thousand paper cranes?"

"No."

"Well, it says that if you make a thousand paper cranes, you can have a wish."

"And what is your wish?"

He got silent before answering.

"I don't know. I never thought about it… Momo, I guess," he muttered, hinting at Momo's fever that is currently bothering them. "But… everyone's happiness, I guess…"

After fiddling with the paper for a while as he said his reasons, he blushed madly, embarrassed with his words. He hurriedly started cutting for the next crane.

Ayano giggled. He seemed to have doubled his speed this time around.

She thought about his answer.

"Happiness, huh? That's a good wish!"

She grinned at him. this only made him redder, almost matching the color of her scarf.

She suddenly sat beside him. he turned to see her making an excited and determined face. A drop of sweat made its way down his cheek. He sensed something ominous is going to happen this time around.

"I decided! I wanna help! But you have to teach me first."

As expected, she made such an unexpected request. His wavering line of a mouth opened and he stumbled over his words. To his relief, she doesn't seem to mind.

"I-I-I don't know how to teach!"

"Sure you do!" she argued.

He frowned, sensing stubbornness in her.

"I don't!"

"Then do it slowly."

She said it in such a firm, assuring tone that he can't help frowning even more at her. Is she going to push him around until he does what she says?

"I can follow what do."

He affixed his calculating gaze at her before deciding to follow the shortest way out of this mess.

"Cut a square piece, then."

Ayano bubbled up in success as she picked up his scissors an carefully cut a square from the papers in front of them.

When he saw that she is done, he started folding and she would follow.

-0-

In a few minutes, Ayano rivals the boy's speed and the two are now mass-producing paper cranes currently littering his bedroom floor.

They soon ran out of papers, though, so they decided to count them before continuing in case they got too much. The task took long enough, the two often going back to recount and getting lost.

"Ayano!" the familiar voice of the boy's mother called from below. "Your mother says your father will get you in a bit! It's getting a bit late, after all "

The two took a glance at the boy's clock before glancing back at each other and their work once again.

Then he stood, gently carrying as many cranes as he could.

"Ayano, right?"

She nodded.

"I'm Shintarou," he introduced himself. They were both late in introducing themselves but they both did not seem to mind at all.

He strode to his bed and hid the cranes underneath, dangling the bed sheet to keep them out of sight.

He grinned at her for the first time. It had a hint of a plan that caught her eye.

"It's a secret, okay?" he whispered, putting up a finger to his mouth in a gesture that Ayano knows full well.

Her eyes widened at the actions she least expected from him and she gaped in mild surprise.

She quickly composed herself and laughed, returning the gesture and keeping close as to not let some unnoticed company know their little secret.

They heard footsteps and a knock on the door, which opened to reveal a man in glasses. He had a tired look on his face and he looked like someone right after work.

"Let's go, Aya-" he started, drawling out the "ya" syllable before pausing when his eyes landed on Shintarou beside her.

"-no," he ended in a darker tone, almost sounding the syllable like the "no" opposite of "yes" instead of the lighter sound that ends "Ayano".

She gave Shintarou a grin and a wave as she went to meet her father with a hug. The man fondly patted her head while still eyeing the boy warily and full of suspicion before he was caught by his daughter and was lightly pushed outside.

"Come on, Dad. You said that we'll go already so let's!"

He lets himself be driven away by Ayano who didn't catch his glare full of daggers at the now fidgeting boy.

Once he looked away, she flashed Shintarou a last sheepish grin before disappearing behind the door.

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[a/n]: Ah, so, it might, _might_ become a multi-chapter so please stay tuned! Though please be patient with my irregular updates.

Thanks for reading and please leave a review~


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